O3 Mining (TSXV: OIII) is adding drill rigs across its Alpha and Malartic properties in Val d’Or, Que., and the explorer now has a total of six rigs turning at the two projects.
Two drills are operating at the Malartic property, scheduled to drill 45,000 metres, and four are at Alpha, where they will aim to complete 100,000 metres.
O3 president and chief executive Jose Vizquerra said the exploration-stage company is looking to increase the size of the project. “Growing our resource base in Val D’Or above the current approximate 3.9 million ounces will really cement O3 Mining’s role in the future development of the district,” Vizquerra said in a statement.
At Malartic, the company released a preliminary economic assessment (PEA) on the development of the Marban project in the southeast, with two rigs testing extensions of the deposits, including Norlartic-Kierens, North-North, Marban and Gold Hawk. Additional targets include extensions of historical zones, within 3 km of the PEA pit shells.
Two rigs at Alpha will target the depth extensions of the Orenada #2 and Orenada #4 deposits, with the other two rigs testing targets in the eastern part of the project.
The company plans to add more drills in the new year, targeting areas that require frozen ground for drilling. Vizquerra noted that the Alpha deposit is on strike with, and on the same structure, as the Canadian Malartic open pit mine, Canada’s largest gold mine, situated 25 km away. The Marban project area is also on a parallel structure.
The company recently announced that it had completed the purchase of three claims, covering a total of 1.1 sq. km, for US$150,000, consolidating the Malartic property.
The claims were originally held by Northern Star Mining, and, with their purchase, O3 can now drill the northwest extension of the Kierens deposit. In November, the company hit near-surface gold when drilling around the deposit.
O3 Mining holds 4,350 sq. km of ground in Quebec and 250 sq. km in Ontario. The junior controls over 50 km of strike along the Cadillac-Larder lake fault.
In the past 52 weeks, O3 has traded in a range of $1.06 and $3.68 per share and at press time was trading at $2.84. It has 48 million common shares outstanding for a $171.2-million market capitalization.
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